1. قِفي قَبلَ التفَرُّقِ يا أُماما

    ورُدِّي قَبلَ بَينكم السَّلاما

    Stop before we part, O Umama,

    and return my greeting before your departure.

  2. طَرِبتُ وشاقني يا أُمَّ بَكرٍ

    دُعاءُ حَمامَةٍ تَدعو حَماما

    I was stirred, and my longing was awakened, Umm Bakr,

    by a dove's call to other doves.

  3. فَبِتُّ وَباتَ هَمّي لي نَجيّاً

    أُعزّي عَنكِ قَلباً مُستَهاما

    So I spent the night with sorrow as my confidant,

    consoling a love-bewildered heart for your absence.

  4. إِذا ذُكِرت لِقَلبكِ أُمُّ بَكرٍ

    يَبيتُ كَأَنَّما اِغتَبَقَ المُداما

    When Umm Bakr is mentioned to your heart,

    it spends the night as though it had drunk wine at dusk.

  5. خَدَلَّجةٌ تَرِفُّ غروبُ فيها

    وَتَكسو المتنَ ذا خُصَلٍ سُخاما

    A full-figured woman, the edges of her teeth gleaming,

    she cloaks her back in soft black hair falling in locks.

  6. أَبى قَلبي فَما يَهوى سِواها

    وَإِن كانَت مودَّتُها غَراما

    My heart refuses; it loves no one but her,

    even though loving her is torment.

  7. يَنامُ اللَّيلَ كُلُّ خَلِيِّ هَمٍّ

    وَتأَبى العَينُ مِنّي أَن تَناما

    All who are free of care sleep through the night,

    but my eye refuses to sleep.

  8. أُراعِي التالِياتِ مِن الثرَيّا

    وَدَمعُ العَينِ مُنحَدِرٌ سِجاما

    I watch the trailing stars of the Pleiades,

    while tears stream copiously from my eye.

  9. عَلى حين اِرعويتُ وَكانَ رأسي

    كَأَنَّ عَلى مفارِقِه ثَغاما

    At a time when I had come to my senses, my head

    seemed to have white thagham grass upon its partings.

  10. سَعى الواشونَ حَتّى أَزعَجوها

    وَرَثَّ الحَبلُ فاِنجذمَ اِنجِذاما

    The slanderers persisted until they drove her away,

    and the cord grew frayed, then snapped completely.

  11. فَلَستُ بِزائِلٍ مادُمتُ حَيّا

    مُسرّاً من تذكرِها هُياما

    As long as I remain alive, I shall never cease

    secretly harboring love's madness from remembering her.

  12. تُرَجِّيها وَقَد شَطَّت نَواها

    وَمَنَّتكَ المُنى عاماً فَعاما

    You keep hoping for her, though she has gone far away,

    and wishes have fed you promises year after year.

  13. خَدَلَّجةٌ لَها كَفَلٌ وَبوصٌ

    يَنوءُ بِها إِذا قامَت قِياما

    Full-figured, she has a broad rump and ample buttocks

    that weigh her down whenever she rises.

  14. مُخَصَّرَةٌ ترى في الكَشحِ مِنها

    عَلى تَثقيلِ أَسفَلِها اِنهِضاما

    Slender-waisted, you see at her flank

    a hollow despite the heaviness of her lower body.

  15. لَها بَشَرٌ نَقيُّ اللَّونِ صافٍ

    وَأَخلاقٌ تَشينُ بِها اللِّئاما

    Her skin is clear and pure in hue,

    and her virtues put the base to shame.

  16. وَنَحرٌ زانَهُ دُرٌّ حَليٌّ

    وَياقوتٌ يُضَمِّنُهُ النِّظاما

    She has a throat adorned with ornamental pearls,

    and rubies gathered on a necklace's string.

  17. إِذا اِبتَسَمت تَلألأَ ضَوءُ بَرقٍ

    تَهَلَّلَ في الدجُنَّةِ ثُمَّ داما

    When she smiles, the light of lightning glitters,

    shining in the darkness, then lingering.

  18. وَإِن مالَ الضَّجيعُ فَدِعصُ رَملٍ

    تَداعى كَأَنَّ مُلتَبِداً هَياما

    When her bedfellow leans toward her, she is a mound of sand

    that gives way, like heaped, powdery sand.

  19. وَإِن قامَت تأمَّلَ مَن رآها

    غَمامَةَ صَيفٍ وَلجَت غَماما

    And when she stands, whoever sees her beholds

    a summer cloud entering other clouds.

  20. وَإِن جَلست فَدُميَةُ بَيتِ عيدٍ

    تُصانُ فَلا تُرى إِلا لِماما

    And when she sits, she is a statue in a festival shrine,

    guarded and seen only rarely.

  21. إِذا تَمشي تَقولُ دَبيبَ سَيلٍ

    تَعرَّجَ ساعَةً ثُمَّ اِستَقاما

    When she walks, you would call it a stream's slow flow,

    curving for a while, then running straight.

  22. فَلَو أَشكو الَّذي أَشكو إِلَيها

    إِلى حَجَرٍ لراجَعني الكَلاما

    If I told what I tell her of my pain

    to a stone, it would answer me in words.

  23. أُحِبُّ دنُوَّها وَتحِبُّ نَأيي

    وَتَعتامُ الثناءَ لَها اعتِياما

    I love her nearness; she loves my distance,

    yet carefully chooses praise for herself.

  24. كَأَنّي مِن تَذكُّرِ أُمِّ بَكرٍ

    جَريحُ أَسِنَّةٍ يَشكو كِلاما

    Through remembering Umm Bakr, I am like

    one wounded by spearheads, lamenting his wounds.

  25. تَساقَطُ أَنفُساً نَفسي عَلَيها

    إِذا سَخِطت وَتغتَمُّ اِغتِماما

    My soul falls apart over her, soul after soul,

    when she is angry, and it sinks into anguish.

  26. غَشيتُ لَها مَنازِلُ مُقفِراتٍ

    عَفَت إِلا أَياصِرَ أَو ثُماما

    I visited her deserted dwelling places,

    effaced except for tent-tethers or thumam grass,

  27. وَنؤياً قَد تَهَدَّمَ جانِباهُ

    وَمَبناها بِذي سَلَمِ الخِياما

    and a trench whose two sides had crumbled,

    and the tents she had pitched at Dhu Salam.

  28. كَأَنَّ البختَريَةَ أم خِشفٍ

    تَرَبَّعَتِ الجُنَينَةَ فالسلاما

    The stately woman seems a doe, mother of a fawn,

    that grazed in spring at al-Junayna, then al-Salam.

  29. تَطوفُ بِواضِحِ الذِّفرى إِذا ما

    تَخَلَّفَ ساعَةً بغمت بُغاما

    She circles her white-naped fawn; whenever

    it lags behind a moment, she gives a soft cry.

  30. صِليني واِعلمي أَنّي كَريمٌ

    وَأَنَّ حَلاوَتي خُلِطَت عُراما

    Keep your bond with me, and know that I am noble,

    and that my sweetness is mixed with fierceness.

  31. وَأَنّي ذو مدافعةٍ صَليبٌ

    خُلِقتُ لِمَن يضارِسُني لِجاما

    And I am a stout-hearted defender,

    made a bridle for anyone who challenges me.

  32. فَلا وَأَبيك لا أَنساكِ حَتّى

    تُجاوِرَ هامَتي في القَبرِ هاما

    No, by your father, I shall not forget you until

    my skull lies beside other skulls in the grave.

  33. لَقَد عَلِمت بَنو الشَّدّاخِ أَنّي

    إِذا زاحَمتُ اِضطَلِعُ الزِّحاما

    The sons of al-Shaddakh well know that,

    when I contend, I shoulder the struggle.

  34. فَلَستُ بِشاعرِ السَّفسافِ مِنهم

    وَلا الجاني إِذا أشِرَ الظَلاما

    I am not a poet of trifles among them,

    nor a wrongdoer grown insolent in darkness.

  35. وَلَكِنِّي إِذا حارَبتُ قَوماً

    عَبأتُ لَهُم مذكرةً عُقاما

    But when I wage war on a people,

    I marshal against them a fierce, barren war.

  36. أَقِي عِرضي إِذا لَم أَخشَ ظُلماً

    طَغامَ الناسِ إِنَّ لهَمُ طَغاما

    I shield my honor, when I fear no injustice,

    from the rabble of men—there is rabble among them.

  37. إِذا ما البَيتُ لَم تُشدَد بِشيءٍ

    قَواعِدُ فرعه اِنهَدَمَ اِنهِداما

    If a house has nothing to strengthen

    the foundations of its upper frame, it collapses altogether.

  38. سأُهدي لابنِ ربعيٍّ ثَنائي

    وَمِمّا أَن أَخصَّ بِهِ الكِراما

    I shall offer my praise to Ibn Rab'i,

    and such praise is what I reserve for the noble.

  39. لعِكرِمةُ بنُ رَبعيّ إِذا ما

    تَساقا القَومُ بالأَسَلِ السِّماما

    Surely Ikrima ibn Rab'i, when

    men serve one another poison with spears,

  40. أَشَدُّ حَفيظَةً مِن لَيثِ غابٍ

    تَخالُ زَئيرَهُ اللجبَ اللُّهاما

    is fiercer in defending honor than a lion of the thicket,

    whose roar you would mistake for a vast, tumultuous army.

  41. أَخو ثِقَةٍ يُرى بَيني المَعالي

    يَضيمُ وَيَحتَمي مِن أَن يُضاما

    A trustworthy man, seen [building] lofty honors,

    he oppresses, and guards himself against being oppressed.

  42. يَرى قَولاً نَعَم حَقّاً عَلَيهِ

    وَقَولاً لا لِسائِلِهِ حَراما

    He considers saying 'yes' a duty incumbent on him,

    and saying 'no' to his petitioner forbidden.

  43. فَتى لا يَرزأُ الخُلانَ إِلا

    ثَناءَهُم يرى بِالبُخلِ ذاما

    A young man who takes nothing from friends except

    their praise; he sees disgrace in stinginess.

  44. كَأَنَّ قدورَهُ مِن رأسِ ميلٍ

    عَلى عَلياءَ مشرفَةٍ نَعاما

    His cooking pots, seen from a mile away, are like

    ostriches upon a lofty, commanding height.

  45. تَظَلُّ الشارِفُ الكَوماءُ فيها

    مُطبَّقَةً مَفاصِلُها عِظاما

    In them an old, high-humped she-camel remains,

    her joints parted, bone by bone.

  46. يُحَسُّ وَقودُها بِعِظامِ أُخرى

    فَلا ينفكُّ يَحتَدِمُ اِحتِداما

    Their fire is fed with the bones of another camel,

    and never ceases blazing fiercely.

  47. كَأَنَّ الطائِفينَ بِها صَوادٍ

    رأت رِيّا وَقَد وردت هُياما

    Those circling around them are like thirsty beasts

    that see quenching water after arriving mad with thirst.

  48. لَو اَنَّ الحَوشبينِ لَهُ لَكانا

    لمن يَغشى سُرادِقَهُ طَعاما

    If the two Hawshabs belonged to him, they would be

    food for whoever entered his pavilion.

  49. لَقَد جارَيتُما يا ابنَي رُوَيمٍ

    هَزيمَ الغَربِ يَنثَلِمُ اِنثِلاما

    You two sons of Ruwaym have indeed competed with

    a leaky great bucket, splitting wide open.

  50. يُقَصِّرُ سَعيُ أَقوامٍ كِرامٍ

    وَيأبى مَجدُه إِلا تَماما

    The striving of noble peoples falls short,

    while his glory accepts nothing less than completeness.

  51. لَهُ بَحرٌ تَغَمَّدَ كُلَّ بَحرٍ

    فَما عدلَ الدَّوارِجَ وَالسناما

    His is a sea that has engulfed every sea,

    passing over neither al-Dawarij nor al-Sanam.

  52. يَرى لِلضَيفِ وَالجيرانِ حَقّاً

    وَيَرعى في صَحابَتِهِ الذِّماما

    He recognizes a right owed to guest and neighbors,

    and honors his obligations to his companions.

  53. إِذا بَرَدَ الزمانُ أَهانَ فيهِ

    عَلى المَيسورِ وَالعُسرِ السَّواما

    When the season turns cold, he freely spends

    his grazing herds, in ease and hardship alike.

  54. يُسابِقُ بالتلادِ إِلى المَعالي

    حِمامَ النَّفسِ إِنَّ لَها حِماما

    With inherited wealth he races toward honor against

    his soul's appointed death—for it has an appointed end.

  55. أَغَرُّ تَكَشَّف الظلماء عَنهُ

    يَعِزُّ مِن المَلامَةِ أَن يُلاما

    A radiant man, from whom darkness lifts,

    too exalted for blame to touch him.

  56. نَما ونمت بهم أَعراقُ صِدقٍ

    وَحيٌّ كانَ أَوَّلُهم زِماما

    He rose, and through them rose roots of true nobility,

    and a clan whose forebear was a guiding rein.

  57. كَأَنَّ الجارَ حينَ يَحلُّ فيهم

    عَلى الشُمِّ البَواذِخ مِن شَماما

    Their neighbor, when he settles among them, seems

    to stand upon Shamam's lofty, towering peaks.

  58. يُقيمونَ الضرابَ لِمَن أَتاهُم

    وَنارُ الحَربِ تَضطَرِمُ اِضطِراما

    They fight on behalf of whoever comes to them,

    while the fire of war blazes fiercely.

  59. هُوَ المُعطي الكِرامَ وَكُلَّ عَنسٍ

    صَموتٍ في السُّرى تَقِصُ الأَكاما

    He gives fine-bred beasts and every hardy she-camel,

    silent through night journeys, cutting across the hillocks,

  60. وَخِنذيذٍ كَمَرِّيخِ المُغالي

    إِذا ما خَفَّ يَعتَزِمُ اِعتِزاما

    and a powerful horse like a distance-shooter's arrow,

    when it moves lightly, charging resolutely,

  61. طَويلِ الشخص ذي خُصَلٍ نَجيبٍ

    أَجَشّ تَقُطُّ زفرتُه الحِزاما

    tall of frame, flowing-maned and nobly bred,

    hoarse-voiced, its heaving breath snapping the girth.

  62. فَلَم أرَ سوقةً يُربي عَلَيهِ

    بِنائِلِهِ وَلا مَلِكاً هُماما

    I have seen no commoner surpass him

    in bounty, nor any valiant king.